By:  Turner                                            S.R. No. 883
    1-1                           SENATE RESOLUTION
    1-2        WHEREAS, The Senate of the State of Texas takes pride in
    1-3  recognizing the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms and honors
    1-4  the memory of the agents who lost their lives in the line of duty;
    1-5  and
    1-6        WHEREAS, The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms
    1-7  is an agency of the United States Government and a part of the
    1-8  United States Treasury Department; and
    1-9        WHEREAS, One of the principal responsibilities imposed by
   1-10  federal law on the bureau is regulating and enforcing laws and
   1-11  regulations promulgated by the Gun Control Act of 1968 and the
   1-12  Explosives Control Act of 1970; and
   1-13        WHEREAS, Pursuant to that responsibility, special
   1-14  agents of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms attempted
   1-15  to serve a federal search warrant and a federal arrest warrant on
   1-16  Vernon Howell, also known as David Koresh, and his coconspirators
   1-17  in Waco, Texas, on February 28, 1993; and
   1-18        WHEREAS, When agents arrived at the Mount Carmel Center
   1-19  to serve the warrants, they were met with a barrage of gunfire,
   1-20  resulting in the tragic deaths of four Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco,
   1-21  and Firearms Special Agents and the wounding of 15 agents; the
   1-22  special agents who were murdered were Steve Willis of the Houston
   1-23  Field Division, Robert Williams of the Little Rock, Arkansas, Field
    2-1  Office, Conway LeBleu of the New Orleans I Field Office, and
    2-2  Todd McKeehan of the New Orleans II Field Office; and
    2-3        WHEREAS, A memorial service for the slain Bureau of Alcohol,
    2-4  Tobacco, and Firearms agents was held in Waco, Texas, on May 8, 1993;
    2-5  the service was attended by all the agents who participated in the
    2-6  February 28th raid, including those who were wounded; and
    2-7        WHEREAS, Other services in honor of the noble agents who died
    2-8  include a memorial service at Bureau Headquarters, Washington, D.C.,
    2-9  on May 20, 1993, and a Peace Officer Memorial Observance in
   2-10  Georgetown, Texas, on May 14, 1993, which honors all those
   2-11  who have fallen in the line of duty; and
   2-12        WHEREAS, The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms
   2-13  provides some invaluable services to our country and its special
   2-14  agents deserve to be commended for the valor and fortitude they
   2-15  displayed during the difficult raid undertaken at Mount Carmel
   2-16  Center on February 28, 1993; now, therefore, be it
   2-170     their lives in the line of duty.
   2-181                                    _____________________________________
   2-192                                           President of the Senate
   2-203                                         I hereby certify that the
   2-214                                    above Resolution was adopted by
   2-225                                    the Senate on May 10, 1993.
   2-236                                    _____________________________________
   2-247                                           Secretary of the Senate
   2-258                                    _____________________________________
    3-19                                            Member, Texas Senate